Chancellor Olaf Scholz has blocked an air defence package for Ukraine worth €3 billion (£2.5 billion) in one of his last key decisions before the election, according to German media reports.

Germany will provide Ukraine with additional IRIS-T guided missiles for air-defence systems at short notice, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced at a meeting at the US Ramstein Air Base in western Germany on Thursday.

Germany will support Ukraine with additional guided missiles for the Iris-T air defense systems in the short term, states German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, according to N-TV. Pistorius explained that these missiles were initially intended for the Bundeswehr but are now being redirected directly from production to Ukraine.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has announced plans to provide Ukraine with interceptor missiles for the IRIS-T air defence system in the near future. Source: Pistorius at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base,